Atomic Bomb Droppings: The End Of WWII

Facts About the Bombs:
  • The MK 1 bomb called "Little Boy" was the first nuclear weapon to be used in any war (and hopefully one of the last!)
  • The bomb weighed in at about 9,000 pounds and was able to produce enough force to rival that of 20,000 TONS of TNT
  • Code named the "Manhattan Project" the creation of Little Boy and its nuclear partner in destruction Fat Man cost the USA about 20 million dollars to make
  • The bomb design was created by Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, a German Jew who had fled to the USA from Nazi Germany

Why Drop the Atomic Bomb?
  • President Truman estimated that between 500,000 to 1,000,000 American lives could be lost in an invasion of Japan
  • The President wanted to put a swift end to the war
  • Both Japanese cities that were to be bombed were Japanese military sites

The Aftermath
The Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were completely destroyed in the bomb blasts
Over 20,000 people were killed overall in the bomb blasts
10's of 1,000's of Japanese citizens were killed over the months to come because of different diseases related to radiation exposure
Japan surrendered soon after the bombing of Nagasaki
Both Japanese cities that had been bombed were only small craters in the earth, where once proud Japanese cities had once stood



This information was submitted by Nicholas Kryza, Period#7 Social Studies